The Story Shifts
by FantasyFreakLover
Summary: Diana was Lily's best friend in school, and even after, they kept contact. The night Voldemort went to kill Harry, she had just left the Potter's. She got to Harry before anyone else and raised him as hers. Sort of follows the book's story line. Sort of
1. Prologue

Diana smiled lazily as she turned and kept walking down the street. It was wonderful to see Lily after so long, and wasn't it funny that both her son, and Diana's daughter was born on the same day?

She absently shifted Argenta even as she thought this, moving her to her other side. The little one year old just mumbled and snuggled closer, still sound asleep.

The witch paused and looked around her. What on earth are so many muggle children doing out so late? She wondered absently to herself. She had never studied muggles, personally: she had thought it was a waste of time. And even though she did not think that any more, it was too late to change her ways.

She was so absorbed that she jumped when one of the children spoke to her.

"Happy Halloween! I dina think that grownups dressed up, but I like you're costume." He had shrugged and run off by the time she noticed, and she stared after his retreating form, completely baffled. She froze.

Green light was shining from where Lily's hidden house lay. _Deadly_ green light. She had seen enough Death Eaters at work to know the signs of the Unforgivables.

Diana bolted back the way she had come, running as fast as she possibly could. The charm protecting the Potters prevented her from apparating in, a fact she cursed as she ran. Please, _please_ let her be in time.

***

She was too late.

She had been so close when she arrived, just in time to see the house practically fall apart. So close, but so far; wasn't that the saying?

Looking around warily, wand at the ready, she slipped into the house as she charm failed.

She swore and covered her baby's eyes a second later, kneeling by the body of James Potter. After a long moment she regained her feet and headed for the stairs. She could guess what had happened, and she knew that Lily would be up here.

Diana walked into the nursery, the room the worst off, and promptly burst into tears. She collapsed by Lily's side and cried. One day. Not even, that was all she had gotten since school had let out, so many years before. It hurt.

A cry interrupted her in the middle of her tears.

Diana froze, then whipped around to she the baby's body.

He was crying, crawling towards her, and her heart almost stopped.

He. Was. Alive.

She glanced at Lily, thought of James, and began to understand.

Harry cried again, and was answered by another cry.

Diana glanced between Harry and Argenta. They both had matching black hair, the same skin tone, and even looked quite a bit alike. The main difference was their eyes, but then, Argenta's father had had green eyes. She could always work things out later.

She thought quickly; there were only moments left before people began to come.

Giving Lily an agonized glance, she came to a decision. Bending over Lily, she kissed her gently on the forehead.

"I'll keep him safe, I promise." She murmured to her friend's body.

She got to her feet, staggering slightly. She raced over to Harry and started to scoop him up. After a split second she put him back down, and used her wand to sweep all the clothes she could see, all the photos, and personal objects into a bag, which she slung over her shoulder before snatching up Harry. She promptly turned on the spot, vanishing from the ruined house.

Less than a minute later, Hagrid appeared, with orders form Dumbledore to collect Harry. With him was Sirius Black, former Secret Keeper for the Potters, and Godfather to the orphaned baby boy. Too bad the baby boy in question was already gone.


	2. 1 Childhood Begins

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters, nor do I own the story line.**

Chapter One ~~ Childhood Begins

On November 2, three days after Lily and James were killed, Diana arrived back at the huge mansion – though many would just as easily call it a small palace – that served as her home in Italy. Located in the middle of the woods, with a huge lake on the south, and muggle-repellent spells over everything – as well as a huge amount of spells and protections against anyone else that did not have an invitation or was a member of the household – it was one of the safest places in the world. (It also had the added bonus of being Unplottable. Diana _really_ liked her privacy)

Stalking into the house, Diana's first priority was the children. They were immediately whisked away, bathed, garbed, and laid to sleep. While the house elves were doing this, Diana was giving orders to have rooms set up for the boy, right across the hall from Argenta.

Only after the room was being set up to her satisfaction did she head for her own suite to take care of herself.

Stepping into a blisteringly hot shower, Diana let out a groan of relief and slumped against the wall for a moment before straightening and getting everything she needed to get done done. Her mind was still whirling, still majorly focused on Harry. Which, in and of itself, brought up a whole new range of problems.

It was true that her husband, from a politically arranged marriage, had committed suicide less than a week after he found out that Diana was carrying. That made everything so much easier, but also more difficult. She had known she was carrying a girl: she wasn't planning on a boy, and could only hope that he would be fine without a father. She hadn't been seen since he had died, and no one really knew – especially since Lily and James are now dead, she thought viciously – that she only had a girl. Her former husband was not well liked, and by this point no one remembered what he looked like. She could pass off Harry's eyes as inherited from his father. Diana snorted. Like that was even remotely true.

And at the moment, her main problem was…Harry…no. That would not work. Her name was Italian; so was her daughter's. To have a common English name for Argenta's twin would be a large cause for gossip, particularly since she did not much like English names in the first place. She would have to change his name, and it would also be best to take his memories. That last may be an over caution, but better that then being lazy and slacking.

She sighed. She should have just left the baby. Dumbledore would have come for him; that genius head of his would have had a plan…but she felt sure that this was what Lily would have wanted. Dumbledore would have most likely sent him to his Godfather – where he would have no mother figure – or to his aunt and uncle. From what Lily had told her during school, her sister resented the fact that she was a witch, and would have hated Harry. Lily would not have wanted that in a million years. No, this was the best thing that she could have done. Still, Diana knew that there would most likely always be a little voice in her head saying that she should have left him…unless she managed to get everything worked out now. Everything had to be worked out. And there was so much in Everything.

Stepping out of the shower, she found that her room was ready for her, a small dinner waiting. She ignored that, for the moment, dressed, and slipped out of her room, through the halls, and into Argenta's room. Best take care of his memories now. No need to give him nightmares.

Sure enough, even out side the door, Diana could hear him whimpering and crying in his sleep. Moving to stand beside him, Diana reached down and gently stroked his forehead, soothing him. She gently placed her wand against his temple, and then reached into his mind with Legilimency, drawing out his memories of faces, voices, names, and other major things, such as his Godfather's transformation. Placing each memory carefully, so that, in time, he would be able to regain them even as he remembered them now, Diana watched attentively as Harry – no, she must stop thinking of him as such – the child fell into a true, relaxed slumber. She sighed deeply.

"Sleep well, little one." _And I hope, in time, that you will be able to forgive me for this_, she added silently. She bent, kissing him on the forehead.

Turning, she moved to her daughter's side, on the opposite side of the room. For the moment, they were both in the same room, at least, until she got the opposite room all settled. Diana bent down and kissed her little girl on the forehead as well, before slipping silently out of the room and going across the hall.

Opening the door to the room that her son (because she needed to start thinking like that now, just in case. After all, there are other Legilimency masters, and Dumbledore's one of them) would be living in as soon as it was ready, was like walking into a storm. The room was, quite simply, orchestrated chaos. House elves were swarming everywhere you looked, and the room was already unrecognizable. Having been previously used as a sort of massive closet/storeroom, it had been filled with dust and boxes and clothes. All of that was gone now, and the room utterly changed.

Argenta's rooms were fashioned after the seashore, in a way that only the best can do. The walls were first painted in minute detail, and then brought to life. In short, Argenta had a beach for a floor, complete with sand, the rooms smelled of the sea, you can hear the crash of the tides, feel the mist, and see dolphins leaping in the distance. All of her furniture was made to reflect that. Driftwood, shells, and whalebone, everything was made to reflect the sea, because that was what the child found soothing. And as that could change, redecoration could occur as well.

Somehow, she knew that his rooms should not be the seashore, but the forest. And considering his strange history, and his family's odd traits, she knew that she was right. All the furniture, in dark woods and light, rough and smooth, was prepared and in their proper places. The rooms were just getting the finishing touches done, the walls and the floors getting last minute touch ups, and all the clothes going in their proper places. Diana nodded in satisfaction. Everything was going very well.

For as long as this looks on paper, it took mere moments to think, and almost before she finished with these thoughts, the nearest house elves noticed Diana standing in the doorway. They rushed over and began to inform her, in their squeaky little voices, that everything is going well, and does the mistress need anything, or does she have anything to add?

Diana smiled wryly. She loved the little things; they were so sweet.

"Actually, yes," she said, suddenly realizing what was missing from his rooms. "We need animals. These woods," she explained, gesturing to the walls, "are empty. There should be birds, little creatures, and even bigger ones. Argenta has them; seagulls, dolphins, and flying fish, and whales. There should be _life_."

For one excruciatingly long moment, all the house elves simply stared at her. Then they turned and stared at the walls. After that, there was a mad scramble to get the paint and things.

"Is there anything else you need, mistress?" Bella squeaked. Bella was the Housekeeper, the highest ranking elf.

"Yes, send the family albums to my rooms, Bella." Diana said after a long, thoughtful moment.

"Yes mistress." The words were accompanied by a deep bow, and Diana turned and left them to it, heading back to her own rooms, her bed, and her dinner.

***

Three hours later, Diana was finished with her meal, was resting in bed, flipping through the family albums. She was looking, perhaps futilely, to find some relative who looked like the boy, so that she could name him after that relative. So far, she wasn't having much luck.

Diana flipped to another page and paused. There was a photo of two cousins, from France and Italy. The standing joke with the family was that they were like brothers, with the same name, if a little different. Domenico and Dominique. Domenico looked most like the boy, but Dominique had green eyes near the same shade.

Hmm…Dom…Dominic? Domenic? Domenic. That would work, for a first name. Dom would even be a good nickname for him. Diana smiled, amused. And it means 'our lord, belonging to our lord'. Not to Voldemort. Odd, the way that worked out.

Going back to the pages, she continued looking, but lazily now. She had a first name, and if worst came to worst, she could always name him after – aha! Her maternal grandmother's father was named Aaron. Of course, those photographs were black and white, and some where photo's of paintings, but still…he looked dignified…but not. He had an aura of power, which was understandable. In his time, he was one of the richest people in the wizarding world. But he also looked alternately bored and amused, as though the photo's and things were a waste of his time. (Diana felt the same when she needed to do things like that.) Remembering stories about Aaron, she compared them to James Potter, and snorted. Peas of a pot. Chip of the leaf. What ever that muggle saying was, they were that.

Domenic Aaron Remaro. Perfect. Diana closed the albums and placed them beside the bed. As she lay back in the bed, the lights dimmed, and the sounds of the seashore sounded in her ears. (Her own rooms alternated from landscape to landscape. Seas, forests, jungles, plains, mountains, and rivers were all part of her circuit.)

She could always worry more in the morning.

***

**HARRY POTTER MISSING**

On the night of October 31st, four days ago, Lily and James Potter were killed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and their son Harry is, presumably alive, but gone. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was defeated by Harry Potter, after which, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has disappeared, presumed dead. While Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry remains skeptical, He is certainly gone for now. Meanwhile, Harry Potter, along with everything personal from The Boy Who Lived's bedroom, is gone, having vanished, seemingly into thin air. Everyone, Ministry and Death Eaters alike, are searching for this miraculous child. The fact that Death Eaters are looking means that they did not steal the child. But the question still remains unanswered…

WHERE IS HARRY POTTER?

***

"DOM! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

The sound of her five year old daughter screaming at her five year old son jolted Diana out of a deep sleep. As she scrambled to pull her thoughts together in the aftermath, Diana accidentally twisted, and fell out of her huge bed with a thud that drove the last thoughts of sleep from her mind. She looked up at the impossibly long distance back to the bed longingly, before sighing and dropping her head to the floor.

_What on earth is going on _this_ time?_ She wondered to herself, before adding, _and do I really _want_ to know?_ As an afterthought.

Still, she hauled herself to her feet and stalked towards the door. The rocky floor that accompanied the mountains bit into her feet, seeing as she had forgotten her slippers, and that only added to her temper.

She snapped and snarled to herself all the way down to the entrance hall, where she encountered Bella.

"What is it this time?" She asked, irritably. She knew that she was likely not being fair, but this was the first time she had been home in three months. She had been looking forward to actually sleeping.

"The young master went through all of the young mistress's papers and used them to fuel the bonfire he had made in celebration of your return, mistress. She only found out now when she went to draw." Bella responded meekly.

"And this is excruciatingly important because…?" Diana prompted. That could be all, it was true, but Ata seemed even more upset than when she was usually was when she threatened her brother. So Diana was reasonably sure that there was something more.

"I believe that she made a book full of her drawings and stories for you. I am reasonably sure that she was not quite done, and went to add one last thing, and found the book missing. Along with all of her other things. And all of the young master's things as well, but I think that she put two and two together and got Domenic Aaron Remaro." Bella giggled a little, she couldn't help it. But the two young ones loved each other, and got on each other's nerves so much that it seemed that they were always fighting about something. Bella, keeping a sharp eye on them, due to their penchant for wandering, often overheard them arguing about little things. She had overheard Argenta's discovery of the missing papers, for instance.

Diana sighed ruefully. _I suppose that this is entirely my own fault. _She thought to herself_. I'd been so worried about how they would manage without a father, and then I kept going off and leaving them behind. I have to think about this. Later._

"Argenta! Domenic! Come in here, now. Argenta, stop threatening your brother." She called, then turned and walked into one of the rooms nearby. It was one of the many sitting rooms scattered all over the house.

Collapsing on one of the couches and closing her eyes longingly, the mistress of the house waited for her wayward children to join her. After a few moments, she heard the door open, then close, and two pairs of feet moving to chairs across the couch she was on. She sighed and opened her eyes.

"Madre—"

Yes, Argenta would be the first to speak.

"Madre—"

And there's Domenic's input.

"Hush."

They hushed, waiting. Diana studied them and sighed again.

"I am disappointed in your behavior. I thought that you had been taught better than that." She continued, overriding the protests that they were about to start. "I know that I'm not here much, and that when I am you get excited, but that is no reason to be over dramatic. Bella told me what happened. First, Domenic, you need to remember to ask for real fuel. Parchment may burn well, but it can get expensive. Second, Argenta, I love you so much for making me a gift, but it is not necessary. What I consider necessary is that the two of you do not threaten one another with death. Bella tells me that you do that a lot, but I _am_ going to stop it."

Diana took a deep breath. This was where she needed absolute control.

"I am going to leave you with someone for a month. One month. You will obey her, and cooperate, or you will come straight back here." They both nodded, and Diana continued. "After that, if you have behaved, I will start taking you with me when I travel. After all, when you inherit, you will most likely need to go to these places then, and it would be better to go now than later. Our first stop will be the Amazon Jungle, and because I know that you've always wanted to go there, you had best be on your best behavior. Understood?"

They both exchanged glances, bright eyed and eager, forgetting their argument in the excitement. They nodded eagerly. Diana studied them, then nodded.

"We'll leave tomorrow, so make sure that you're packed before tonight." Diana stood, ready to leave, when Dom jumped up and grabbed her hand. Ata grabbed her other hand.

"We want to show you something," they chorused.

Diana sighed in mock sadness. "Oh, very well. Lead on."

***

Dom and Ata pulled Madre down the path, and onto the labyrinth that served as a forest path. No one who didn't walk in the woods every day would be able to find any semblance of a path, and would get hopelessly lost. Ergo, easy pray.

They finally came to a valley, and after they had scrambled down into the middle of it, the children continued leading their mother down it until they came to a wall of brambles. Dom, letting go of Diana, leaned forward and carefully moved the curtain aside, and Ata pulled her through immediately, followed by Dom.

Diana stopped still, staring.

The two of them had managed to create a sort of hut in the middle of the valley. Ducking inside, she wandered about, seeing the care that they had put into it. The roof was covered in waterproof leaves, as were the windows, while the door was a woven mat of them. They kept rain out, and were easily moved to let in light. They had made cups of bark, and found rocks and things for tables and chairs.

Diana turned to face her children, dumbstruck. The effort to make this, the care that was showed in how they cared for it and kept it clean, was amazing.

Ata picked up one of the bark cups, and bent, moving a stone, uncovering a small clear spring, which she used to fill the cup that she handed to her mother. Sitting, she took a sip of the water. It was clean, and clear, which showed that they were careful about that as well.

"This is amazing," she finally said. "I don't know what to say, other than, I'm proud of you."

***

She was having a lovely dream. She could breathe underwater, and was swimming in the Mediterranean. She dived deeper and deeper, and came into a mer-village. Everyone was being very nice, and she was a part of them. She could feel her legs melding together…

Domenic looked at his twin sister and grinned. She was having a wonderful dream, he could tell. Well, it was too bad, but she had to wake up. He climbed up onto her bed and started shaking her, bouncing up and down. "Wake up!"

_Wait! No! I want to stay!_ Despite her silent protests, she was going up, and the water was going dim. She could vaguely hear something…

"Wake up! We're leaving!"

Argenta tried to sit up, but was stopped by the fact that her annoying brother was on top of her. Finally, what he was saying registered in her ears.

"We have to go! We're going to be late! Wake up!"

"I'm up! I'm UP! Get off and out, I have to get dressed!" She pushed, and he bounded off the bed. He grabbed two of her suit cases and dragged them out of the room as she scrambled out of bed and over to her closet.

"Hurry," he said as he staggered out of the room with the cases.

She did dress in a hurry, slipping on a pale blue dress with silver embroidery, which Madre had insisted she wear today, without the over robe. Grabbing a comb and sticking it in the pocket of one of the two remaining suitcases – she had taught Dom how to braid, and he often braided her hair for her when she needed – she grabbed their handles and hauled them out the door and down the stairs.

She made her way to the entrance hall as quickly as possible, and found Madre and Dom waiting for her. Beyond the door, in the front drive was a wonderful, jet black car. Everything else was already in the trunk. Ata snatched the comb before the trunks disappeared, and then slid into the backseat with Dom. Waving briefly at the house elves, Dom followed. Ata immediately handed him the brush. "Could you braid my hair?" He didn't even bother answering, just started to comb her hair.

"Where do you think we're going?" She asked absently, craning to try to get a good look out of the windows. She felt him shrug.

"I have no idea, but," he added slowly, "from the way that we have to behave, I think it's somewhere that we won't particularly like."

Ata fell silent, thinking about that. It was true though. Because everything depended on behavior, they probably wouldn't like it. Dom gently tugged her new braid, silently telling her that he was done. She turned and faced him. They both knew that they would behave perfectly: So long as they could travel with Madre.

Time passed. Eventually Argenta fell into a doze, her head resting on Domenic's shoulder. Dom himself was not particularly tired, so he kept looking out the window, wondering where they were going.

Two hours after Ata fell asleep, the car stopped, and Madre got out and opened the door to the backseat.

Dom nudged Ata, who slowly lifted her head and looked around blearily. Madre smiled, then leaned in and picked her up, carrying her to the front door, where she rang the doorbell. Dom got out of the car and stretched his very stiff muscles before coming up to join her.

The door was opened by a tall woman with red hair. She smiled at them.

"Come in, come in. Alec is getting your bags, and I have dinner on the table." She stood aside and Madre walked in and put Ata down in a chair. Dom followed close behind.

Yawning and stretching, Ata looked around. It was a cozy room, with a medium sized kitchen (for this sized house), leading off to a nice little sitting room. There were rugs, armchairs, a television, and photographs.

She and Dom both turned and stared at Madre.

"Madre, this is a _muggle_ house." Ata said incredulously. "You can't honestly be _leaving_ us here."

"Yes, I can. And I am. Children, there are a lot of muggles in the world. This is a muggle-born house, the oldest boy, Alec, is a Wizard, and, he has a younger brother who shows signs of being a Wizard. Remember what I told you." Madre bent down and kissed them both on the forehead and the cheek. "I will see you in a month." She turned and left the house. The twins sat, frozen in their seats, as they heard Madre's car start, then drive away. They looked at each other. They were in a muggle house, with people they didn't know, for a month. They had to get along, follow the rules, and do what…whoever…says. For a month. Muggles. A month.

Ata sighed. Dom snorted.

"This is going to be fun."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**People, this is my first fanfiction. Take it easy on me.**

**Please review, but please only give constructive criticism, and don't flame. **

**Advice is Welcome.**

**REVIEW! Sorry, but I WANT them.**


	3. 2 Enter Muggles

Muggles. A month.

_Ata sighed. Dom snorted. _

"_This is going to be fun."_

**Please people; I am begging for Reviews! BEGGING!**

**Disclaimer Goes Here: I do not own any of J. K. Rowling's characters…the usual**

**Bold = someone else's thoughts**

Italic=Dom's thoughtsItalic Underlined= Ata's thoughts

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Chapter 2 ~~ Enter Muggles

Watching the two children would have been funny, if you didn't have to live with them for a month. They were communicating on an unheard of level, directly into each other's minds. Madame Celeste sighed in resignation. **It must be a twin thing,** she thought.

Coming in the door with their bags, Alec snorted at the sight of the two of them, shaking his head.

"Honestly…" he muttered, rolling his eyes, "You'd think that we were dragons or something like that."

"Dragons don't scare us," Dom said scornfully. "Madre always says that we will be the death of her, because we aren't afraid of anything, and are always getting in trouble."

"Yes, we are utterly terrified of you," Ata said, equally scornful. Her tone changed. "So, who are you? We're going to be living with you, so, we should know that, at least."

Both Alec and his mother looked astonished.

"You mean your mother did not tell you anything?" Alec asked.

Dom shook his head.

"Nothing. Here, we'll start. I am Dominic Aaron Remaro. This is my twin sister Argenta Parenelle Remaro. We are five years old and are evil demons. According to Madre."

Ata laughed and picked up from where he left off. "We go by Dom and Ata, and have a creative streak, dangerous disposition, and are as liable to kill one another as to breathe."

"We dislike overbearing adults,"

"We know perfectly well that we are scarily advanced for five year olds, thank you very much,"

"We know that we are just terrifying sometimes,"

"Or all the time…"

"We are naturals with weapons, and can use sword, dagger, bow, staff, and hands,"

"And no matter how many screams of absolute terror that you hear, we are always fine, I guarantee."

Madame Celeste stared at them in shock. Were they serious? One look at their faces proved that they were. She smiled nervously at them, suddenly wishing that she had never agreed to have them stay with her for a month. She took a deep, calming breath.

"I am Saralin Celeste. My husband died three years ago. He was Italian, but I am French. I have two sons, Alec and Jonathon. They attend the Italian School of Magic. Jonathon is nine years old, while Alec is fifteen. I will not tolerate screaming in my house. You will behave here." She closed her eyes and rubbed her head. A headache was pounding in her forehead, and the twins were the cause of it.

"Alec, could you show them to the room that they will be staying in?"

Alec smiled. "Sure, Madre. Come on, this way." He gestured to the two children to follow him, and he picked up their bags again.

He climbed the stairs, and turned the corner that lead farther into the house. He opened a door halfway down the passage, revealing a room with a queen-sized bed. He turned back to them with a sheepish smile and shrugged.

"We aren't rich, so you'll have to share the bed. Or one of you could sleep on the floor. Depositing their bags on the bed Alec turned back to the door. "Keep in mind that Madre is not feeling well, so keep it down up here. No screams of terror. Luncheon is in an hour." He left, shutting the door behind him. The twins listened to the sound of his footsteps fading, and then going down the stairs.

Dom dropped back onto the bed, digging his way between two of the bags to make a place to sit. This accomplished, he leaned over and picked up the thin silver bag that Ata carried everywhere, and handed it to her before picking up his matching black bag.

Inside were muggle 'laptops' ones that the twins had dissected and deformed, transforming them to fit their liking. They were among the children who had an amazing amount of control over their magic, even at this age. Although, to be fair, the fact that they purchased about a thousand books on muggle laptops, computers, and other technology helped, as did the fact that their Madre had given them all the help they wanted.

Slipping her laptop out and placing it on her knees as she sat cross-legged on the bed across from Dom, Argenta opened it and passed her hand clock-wise over the keypad and mouse pad. The screen lit up, the pale light washing over her. Dom mimicked her movements, and the light of his screen joined hers.

She rested her middle finger on the mouse pad and closed her eyes. What muggles call the 'internet' popped up on both of their screens, the changes they had made still there. The Wizard International Network. W.I.N. There was everything that the muggles had, subtly changed to fit the magical world. The search engines, directories, maps, pretty much everything that you can think of. Once they let it loose, different places could add their main pages, information would be going out, and everything. Muggles were actually getting ahead of wizards, what and with all of their technology. It was time wizards caught up with muggles.

_I think that we are ready to launch them._Ata thought eventually.

_Are you sure? We have everything set?_

We already went over this. Ten Galleons a month for the WIN, and then we will have it be about Fifty Galleons for the altered computers, with about one hundred Galleons for the laptops. Everything that we made is all set. All that needs to be done is business, school, bank, and Ministry sites to go up, along with the wiz-mail, chat boards, fan sites, and other things that individual people make. We have everything else set. Everything is already made- altered. They run on magic now, so that only a witch or wizard can work them in the first place, to take care of secrecy. We even have the name: Technomagic

_I know. But this is big. We don't want to get this wrong._

_I know that too. You worry too much, Dom. Relax. Everything will be fine._

Ata smiled at her brother and passed her hand counter-clock-wise over the laptop, closing it once the light went out. He grinned back at her.

_Come on; let's unpack. _ Dom told her, hoping off of the bed and over to the dresser. After examining it, he sighed. _ How about I take the dresser and you take the closet?_

Ata bit back a smile. _Sure,_ she replied. _Particularly because girls have more stuff than boys. It's a fact of life._

_Why was I cursed with a sister? _Dom asked to no one in particular.

_You're looking at this the wrong way,_ Ata said primly. _You should be saying 'why was my wonderful, angelic, sister cursed with a terrible, demonic brother?'_

He stared at her for a long moment. _Shut up._

She laughed, then leaned over to grab her bags, dumping them in front of the closet and opening the door. She examined the closet.

"Well, it isn't home, but it will do." She muttered. She grabbed a bunch of hangers and started to put them to use. Dom simply transferred his folded clothes from his two bags to the dresser, then sat back down on the bed and watched with amusement as she hung all of her clothing up.

"We are staying for a month, Ata, not a year," he drawled. "It won't be the end of the world if you wear the same thing twice."

She rolled her eyes without turning around. "Shows what you know," She retorted. "There are different times that demand different attire. We should be ready for everything."

Dom studied the set she was putting away at the moment, and then snorted. "And what 'time' do you think that you will need to be wearing what basically accounts to leather armour?" He demanded incredulously.

"It's best to be prepared for everything." She said primly.

Dom threw up his hands in exasperation and collapsed backwards.

"That's it. You are, _officially_, crazy."

"Hmph."

"Come on, crazy. 'Luncheon'. Do they really say that?" Dom wondered to himself as he walked out the door, followed by his sister. "_Luncheon_? Who says that?"

"Apparently, they do." Ata said dryly, watching the back of his head in amusement and shaking her head at the way he was acting.

Dom spun around and walked backwards down the hall, glaring at her, but still unerringly graceful. Well, they both were. It was in their training. They were graceful, balanced, strong, dangerous, and—"Stairs."

Her caution came too late, and Ata collapsed in laughter as Dom tripped backwards and fell down quite a few stairs.

He growled at her as he scrambled to his feet. "Not one word," he threatened.

She simply smiled blindingly at him. "Of course not," she purred. She slipped around him and sauntered down the stairs. She entered the kitchen silently, with Dom right behind her. They sat down meekly at the table, across from a boy with dirty blonde hair. They looked at him. He looked at them.

"Jonathon." He said, nodding to them. "You must be the twins who are staying with us for a month." The twins sighed, but nodded.

"Dom."

"Ata."

Jonathon stared at her. "Interesting…I don't think that I've ever heard that one. By the way, you may _not_ call me Jon." At that moment, Alec and Madame Celeste came in, carrying lunch, and so they proceeded to ignore Jonathon just as thoroughly as he ignored them.

"So, Jon," Ata said brightly, singularly unaffected by the glare he gave her, "what do you do for fun? Any suggestions that you can give us as to how to spend the month?"

"You can stay away from me," he snapped. "I don't like children."

She gave him a terribly hurt face, and then stuck her tongue out at her.

"Really. We have a month here, and most of the things we normally do we most likely can't do here."

"Like explore the forest for days on end, explore the palace we call home, steal every book we can get our hands on…" Dom smiled. "The list goes on."

"I will take you on a tour of the town tomorrow," Alec said, "then Madre was going to teach you how to cook. That will take up some time. Then, well, I'm sure that we can figure some things out."

Ata and Dom looked at each other eagerly. Cooking! The house elves at home would never have thought of it, so neither did they. But when they thought about it…

"It would be cool to learn survival skills. Like how to camp, make fires in the woods, learn about what's poisonous…"

"Just in case, you know."

Alec looked at them for a long moment, then looked at his mother. They both smiled, even if Madame Celeste did it reluctantly. "I'm sure that we can get some books on the subject," she said. "And I know Alec would be delighted to show you what he knows."

Alec laughed and nodded. "I might even take the two of you camping in the mountains." He caught his mother's disapproving look and shrugged. "It's summer, Madre. We won't freeze."

As everyone finished eating lunch, (which was pizza, by the way. Got to love that Italian food) and started to clean up, Dom caught the hateful looks that Jon was giving him and his sister.

_I don't think Jon likes us very much._

Ata turned around to pick up another plate from the table and snuck a look at his face. _Yes,_ she murmured, _you're right. I wonder why..._

**Alec! **They thought together.

_He's jealous of the way that Alec is treating us. Did you notice that other than your question to him, no one spoke to him at all?_

_You wonder why,_ she responded sarcastically. _With his attitude? Are you serious? I'll bet that no one talks to him when they have a choice._

_We are going to have to live with him,_ Dom responded. _We have to at least attempt to make peace. No matter how difficult the prospect. _

Ata eyed Jon's back as he went back up the stairs. _Well, do you go after him, or shall I?_

Dom rolled his eyes. _I'll go. If you go, you are liable to ghost up on him and scare him into hysterics. _

_I'm not that bad,_ she protested.

YES, you are.

Ata stuck her tongue out at her twin.

_Here, finish this up for me,_ Dom told her.

_So that's why you volunteered. To get out of cleanup duty,_ she teased, coming up behind him. _Go, I have this_.

Dom slid out of the kitchen and up the stairs, following behind Jonathon as he stalked up the stairs and into his room. Dom leaned against the doorframe and coughed lightly. Jonathon snarled under his breath.

"Go. Away."

"No." Dom hesitated, knowing that both Ata and Alec were going to be pissed with him if Jonathon actually agreed, but…"Do you want to go camping with us?"

Jonathon hesitated, and then smiled grimly. "What would the others think of you asking me to come?" he answered.

_Ata…_

_You are a complete and total lunatic. You want to make peace this way?!?!_

_He wants to come._

_Fine. But remember, I'm not happy with you._

"My sister is fine with it, and I'm sure that she can bring Alec around." Dom assured Jon.

"Your sister could convince any male of anything," Jonathon muttered to himself, before speaking at a normal volume. "Whatever, kid. Now will you go away?" Dom did not move, just raised an eyebrow. "Please?"

Dom snorted, but left and headed to his room. Ata was already there, and sprawled on the bed.

_That was flattering. He thinks that I could convince any male of anything? Maybe he isn't so bad._

Dom laughed and sat down beside her, poking her until she sat up.

_Flattery will get you everywhere, Dom. Remember that._

He snorted. _Whatever, Ata. Whatever_.

_All right, I'll bring him around. I'm not sure how yet, but I will._

_Thanks. You aren't that mad, after all_.

_I did not say that. I understand, but I don't have to like it. He looks the type that stays inside all the time. Has he ever actually camped?_

_Probably not, but this is a learning trip._

_Oh, shut up Dom._

There was a knock on the door, and a second latter Alec called "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Dom replied.

Alec sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at the twins thoughtfully. **They're so quiet, but it's obvious that they communicate very well. It's like they always know what the other is thinking. They smile randomly, she smacks him for no apparent reason, and he rolls his eyes. It must be a twin thing.** He thought to himself, amused. "I've cleared everything with Madre," he said aloud. "We'll leave to go camping the day after tomorrow." He paused and looked at them inquiringly when Dom nudged his sister pointedly. She shifted, and then sighed.

"We were thinking," she said with a charming smile, "That since you aren't the only one we need to get to know, your brother, Jon, could go with us. _We_," **Which means he, obviously**, "already asked him, and he said yes. Do you really mind?"

Yes, he really minded, but he also couldn't deny that smile anything. "He isn't really a camping kind of person…" he hedged.

"Well, yes, but then, Dom and I are just learning, too. It can't be that bad. Please? We already said that he could come." Her eyes went soft, and Alec melted.

"Oh, fine. It won't be that bad. I'll go tell Madre that Jon's coming, too." Alec left the room swiftly, shaking his head. He stopped dead right outside the door, seeing his brother listening through the wall. The two boys stared at one another for a long moment.

"Sorry," Jon muttered, moving towards his room. Alec was still staring at him thoughtfully when his door slammed shut. Jon hadn't made a secret for his distaste of them, so why were the twins trying to get Jon included in their camping trip. He stayed in his room all the time anyway, ever since Alec first went to the School of Magic. But none of that explained why the twins were insisting on this.

He wandered into the kitchen, where his mother was just sitting down with a cup of coffee.

"Madre," he said abruptly, sitting down across from her, "Do you have any idea why the twins are suddenly insisting that I include Jonathon in our camping trip? I can't imagine why."

"They seem to be very intelligent children. They most likely realized how you never communicate with your brother." Madame Celeste looked at her eldest son sadly. "He wants to be with you, but you never pay any attention to him. When you were panning this trip…you and the twins. You never even thought that Jonathon might want to go. That hurts him."

Alec just sat there, shocked, as his mother patted him on the shoulder and left. He had never really thought about it. Jon almost never came out of his room anymore, so maybe that was it…but if he wanted to be with Alec, why didn't he suggest things, or even just come out of his room once in a while. Was this his own fault? Why did his brother have to be so annoying?

He shook his head, heading back to his room. **This is ridiculous,** he thought. **I'll just think about this later. When I'm less confused.**

Passing by the room that the twins were in, he could distinctly hear giggling. This struck him as a very, very bad thing. It also struck him that at the moment, he did not particularly care. He thought that this could be taken as a very bad thing.

He staggered into his bedroom and collapsed backwards onto the bed. His last conscious thought that: it was only a little after noon, so why was he so damn tired?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Tents…"

"Check."

"Food…"

"Check."

"Clothes…"

"Check." All three boys shuddered. When Argenta had ransacked their rooms for the clothing, they had been horrified to see what she had managed to stick in the bags that Alec had approved of.

"Um…lets see…I think that's everything. Lets go!" Alec cheered.

All four of the kids (teenager) piled into the car, and Alec turned towards the mountains that you could see in the distance.

"This is going to be so much fun," Ata bubbled.

Jonathon laughed, Alec grinned, and Dom snorted.

"So they say…" Jon said.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sorry I haven't updated in so long, but school just started, and I don't think that I will be able to update that often. I'm trying for every two weeks, at worst, a month. REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

\/

You know you want to….


	4. Camping!

**Bold = someone else's thoughts**

Italic=Dom's thoughtsItalic Underlined= Ata's thoughts

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing! J. K. Rowling is the best!**_

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Chapter Three ~~ Camping!

It took the four of them almost five hours in the car to reach the mountains, then another two to get to the trailhead to their selected camping site. As they started to unload the car, it started to rain. Well, it was more like pouring. And storming. Lightning flashed, and thunder crashed overhead, the sound rolling out from the mountains.

"Ohhh….pretty!" Ata cried.

"You won't think that it's so pretty when you have to walk in it for a good four miles," Alec told her dryly.

She just smiled wickedly at him. _Try me,_ she thought, twirling around randomly, singing bits and pieces of different songs. The three boys just shook their heads, and proceeded to ignore her antics.

They managed to get everything into the backpacks reasonably dry, and Dom was sent to go and collect his sister. He finally located her on the other side of the large empty lot, and dragged her back to the car. She, meanwhile, was high on nature, and deliriously happy. Dom shook his head in mock sadness, but understood the feeling of freedom that they both felt, surrounded by the natural world.

Alec merely rolled his eyes and handed the two kids their backpacks. Slinging them on their backs, they proceeded to hold a race over to the trail head, before waiting impatiently for Jon and Alec to catch up.

Once they were there, the four of them started on the trail.

It was hard. Their hats kept the rain out of their eyes, to a degree. The pouring rain drenched their hair, their clothes, and their bags, turning everything into something that was almost physically painful to drag around. Then on top of that, the trail was up hill, which meant that the water from the rain was flowing down at them, so it was almost like trying to wade upstream in a fairly strong river.

The twins thought that it was fun; the two brothers thought that it was cruel and unusual punishment.

It took them an hour to go almost two miles, and the storm was getting worse by the minute. However, despite how bad everything was, Jon didn't even consider turning back until lightning struck a tree not even half a mile away from them. At that, he wanted to turn back.

"No! It's only lightning, not the end of the world! Please? Can we keep going?"

"We are all going to die! We have to go back!"

"ALEC!" All three of the younger kids turned to face him. He growled under his breath and glared at the lot of them. Why did they have to do this to him? It wasn't fair for him to have to make the decision, and even if he did, it was a tie. There was four of them! How was he supposed to do this?

Alec sighed. "Lets just keep going. Driving home will be just as hard as this, and at least we are away from Madre right now." He tried for a smile, failed, and so just turned around and kept going up the hill.

Grumbling, Jon followed, the twins taking up the rear, looking around eagerly.

_Ohmygod, have you seen any tree that tall before?_ Ata asked Dom, staring at what had to be a hundred and fifty foot tree, but looked higher.

_No, but then, there are some really big trees some places_. He told her absently, twisting to see what she was talking about.

_Oh, Jon, it's not the end of the world. Look at us, this is fun!_

_HE CAN'T HEAR YOU, YOU IDIOT!_

_Oh, shut up Dom. I wasn't talking to you. _

_Oh you weren't, were you?_

She sniffed in distain, deciding to ignore him. To do this, she bounded forward to walk next to Jon. He looked down at her, slightly amused despite his bad mood, at the sight of the little five year old bounding around in the rain. She smiled at him.

"You are plodding," she told him. "That's why it's so hard for you to move. Try to move faster, not to step so heavily. It'll help." She skipped ahead of him, going to catch up with Alec, just to prove her point. Jon could hear her giving his brother the same advice. He hesitantly tried it, moving a little faster, not stomping, but stepping lightly. It worked! Jon was nothing short of stunned, and started going even faster, only to stop dead at the sound of a low laugh from behind him. Jon twisted around.

Dom grinned at him. "Didn't believe her?" he asked, lightly. Jon grinned slightly and shook his head.

"Idiot. We are always right. Always. Something that annoys our mother to no end."

"No doubt."

Ata dashed back to them. "Hurry up you two, Alec thinks that he can see the campsite!"

"Oh, thank god!" Jon breathed, breaking into a run.

Dam laughed at him. Ata flashed a smile at him. _Race you_, she said, and promptly took off.

Dom swore and bolted after her. He flashed by Jon, who stuttered to a halt in shock, and started to slowly gain on his sister. She had the disadvantage of running around all day, whereas he had not. Sometimes the little things were all that mattered. Catching sight of the campsite, Dom growled to himself and picked up the pace, determined to win. He managed to catch up to her on the very edge, and they tied on the very edge of camp. Ten minutes later, when Jonathon arrived, tired and ready to drop, they were still arguing about who had won. The camp was somewhat set up around them, and there was a fire going under a sheltered overhanging, and the twins were sitting across from the fire, arguing. Alec was leaning against the tree that was in the middle of the only tent up, grinning as he watched them. Jon looked over at his brother.

"Have they….?"

"Oh, yes. They are amazingly vocal, too. I don't think that they have repeated themselves once yet. It's a good thing that they don't have their wands yet, but I am a bit worried about accidental magic."

"I WON!"

_Accidental magic? Oh, please. We mastered that at the age of two. Honestly._

"Not on your life! I was so ahead of you!"

_Still, no one else knows that. They all think that we are normal. _

"Nu-uh."

_Only because we let them think that. Can you imagine anyone's reaction if they found out that we are quite good at controlled magic already?_

"Uh-huh."

_Madre would most likely have a heart attack, then mutter some comment that we can't make out, then start teaching us even more then we already know. _

"Nu-Uh."

_Isn't Madre wonderful? Still, I want this to be a surprise._

"Uh-huh."

_Yeah, me too. Ideas? _

"Nu-uh."

_I've been thinking about becoming Animagi. You know, the ability to transform into animals. That would be perfect. Thoughts?_

"Uh-huh."

_I _know_ what Animagi are. You are such an annoying twit, you know that? And you are right, that is definitely perfect. _

"Nu-uh! Give it up! I won, you idiot!"

_Excellent._

Ata screamed. "SHUT UP!"

Dom took one look at her face and fell over on his side, laughing his head off. Ata smiled, then she started laughing too, and they both ended up in hysterics, falling on their sides and trying to breathe.

"You know, that is the first time that I have seen you act your age," Alec told them, before moving over to Jon and starting to help him pitch his tent. The twins only laughed harder, wheezing for breath.

It took a full hour for the twins to recover fully. By that time the camp was entirely set up, and the fire was hot enough to cook dinner on, so dinner was dutifully being made. The twin had calmed down by then, and were busy playing with the food. Alec was actually making dinner, and Jon was double checking the camp. The last thing that they wanted was to find a leak in the middle of the night, and get soaked, and have everything ruined.

Dinner was noodles, cooked simply over the campfire. It was good; simple, and good. Afterwards, Ata yawned and curled up beside Dom, under his arm. "Isn't now the time for scary stories?" she asked sleepily.

Jon laughed. "Thunder, lightning, pouring rain, out in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, in tents…Yes, now would be the traditional time for scary stories."

"Once upon a time…" Dom drawled. "Oh, come on Ata. We are all tired. We can tell scary stories tomorrow. Ata?" _Ata?_

Dom looked down at his sister in disbelief. "She is asleep. She asks for scary stories, then falls asleep as soon as she asked. What am I going to do with her?"

Alec grinned.

"No idea, kid, this one is all yours. But she's right, we should get to sleep." With that said, Alexander got up, stretched, and wandered off. Jon got lazily to his feet, and staggered off. Dom rolled his eyes at their retreating backs, then picked his sister up and stood in one smooth movement.

Carrying Argenta over to their tent, he laid her down and rolled her up inside her sleeping bag. She made a small sound and rolled over, murmuring something under her breath. Dom leaned closer.

"Don't…go…"

"I'm here."

* * *

Ata didn't even remember asking for scary stories the next morning, and didn't understand why the boys all rolled their eyes at one another when she asked how they had slept. She looked suspiciously at her brother. He smiled innocently. She snorted. _You, innocent? I think not._

His smile widened into a full blown grin. _That hurts._

_You will survive. Somehow, I am sure. _

Ata bounced around the camp, helping to pack up everything that they would need for the hike today. The skies overhead were just as gloomy and dark as they had been yesterday, but that didn't seem to stop her from being exceedingly happy, nor did it seem to dampen Dom's spirits either. Unfortunately. Thunder boomed in the distance, and Dom started laughing. Picking up her things, Ata stared at one of the taller tree's speculatively.

"Don't even think about it," Alec warned her. She grinned at him, then moved over to stand next to Dom, still looking at the trees.

The four of them were going on a seven mile hike to a waterfall, up the mountains. The fact that the weather was refusing to cooperate meant that it was likely to take even longer than it would have otherwise. The twins were as excited then as they had been the day before, causing the two older boys to sigh and roll their eyes. They exchanged long suffering glances, then proceeded to ignore the twins.

They were happy and excited, they would dart off, come back, exchange looks, then run off again. The other two almost never noticed, simply ignoring the twins. It wasn't until they had been going for about three hours that Alec broke. He swung around, searching the trees for the twins. After a second, they both slid out of the woods. Dom raised an eyebrow.

"Could one of you climb a tree to see if you can spot the waterfall? I am sick and tired of walking with no product."

Both five year olds grinned and bolted for trees, disappearing up them in seconds. Jon and Alec waited impatiently, looking up, trying to find them in the treetops. There was nothing that they could see, so instead up looking, the older boys listened. For a minute there was nothing, then,

"You're looking in the wrong direction, Ata," they heard Dom tell his sister. They heard a thud, then, "Hey! Don't throw things at me! That isn't nice!"

Ata scoffed. "I'm never nice, darling, get used to it." There was another long silence.

"There!" Ata said suddenly.

"Yeah, there it is," Dom agreed.

"Race you down," Ata offered.

There was a series of thuds, which took Jon a few moments to place.

"They're jumping from branch to branch," he said, astonished.

Alec groaned. "Great," he muttered. "Just what I need. Not."

Jon grinned. There were two muted thuds, and then the twins were there.

"It isn't too far ahead," Dom assured them. "Just another half hour, maybe…Ata, what did you think?"

"Yeah, at most. Come on," she said brightly, dancing forward.

"Race you," Dom told the other boys. They just grinned at him before taking off in dead sprints. Dom bolted after them, and Ata groaned and followed after.

The older boys didn't run that long—what with the weather, they just didn't feel like it. But in the end, it only took something along the lines of twenty minutes before they arrived at the waterfall.

It was gorgeous. The towering falls somehow managed to glitter, even though the sunlight was…minimal, at best. They could hear the roar of the water from ten minutes away, it was so loud. There were even rainbows, though how, no one would ever know.

"Wow…" Jon whispered.

"I know…" Alec said.

"Can I jump in?"

"NO!"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

"ATA, YOU LUNITIC!"

"But…"

"NO!"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

"ATA, YOU LUNITIC!"

"Fine! Be that way!" She proceeded to ignore them, but she also couldn't stop giggling.

"Girls," Jon said in disgust.

"Oh! Look, there's a path to the top!" Ata said suddenly, pointing over to a winding trail to the left of the falls. Everyone looked over eagerly. They all looked at each other. Alec grinned.

"Oh, come on, let's go then, if you're so eager," he teased, heading over to the trail himself.

The trail was littered in things that other climbers had dropped, so there were plenty of things to catch their interest.

"A lighter, by a waterfall?" Jon asked, amused. He bent down to pick the little item up, flicking the lid. The little flame sputtered, then went out. "Almost out, then," he said absently to himself.

It took them twenty minutes to get to the top, not counting when they stopped to look at the things on the ground. The view from the top was even better than the view from the ground.

"This is amazing," Jon stated.

Alec was busy rummaging in his bag, and after a minute he pulled a camera out triumphantly. Everyone laughed.

Several pictures and an hour latter, the four kids finally started back up the trail to their camp. The hike back was much like the hike to the falls, with the twins going in and out of the woods, and the brothers just going steadily along the trail. They got back to the camp around dark, made a very fast dinner of sandwiches, then fell into bed.

"Only one more day…" Jon muttered. "Only…one…more……" he fell asleep in the middle of his sentence, followed not long after by his brother.

'Only one more day, isn't that sad?" Ata said quietly, staring up at the ceiling of the tent that the twins were sharing.

"Yeah…But this was fun, and we can always go on our own, you know."

"True, but this was so much fun. It went so fast. I just can't believe that it is almost over, you know?"

"Go to sleep, Ata." Dom told her. He promptly took his own advice, turning over and falling asleep. She sighed, but followed suit.

* * *

The next morning came—surprise surprise—just as bleak and gray as the two days before it.

"We couldn't have picked a worse weekend to go camping, could we?" Jon growled.

"Probably not," Alec admitted. "But I still had a good time. Jon, it wasn't that bad."

"No, it wasn't, but some sunshine wouldn't have been bad, either," Jon grumbled.

A yawn announced the presence of Dom, who was coming over lazily and dropping to the ground by the fire. He looked up at the two older boys. "Hi." He told them, then yawned again.

"Morning," they both said. "We're having bacon, sausage, and eggs," Alec told him. "We thought that we should eat them, after all. We did bring them to eat them."

The young boy nodded.

"Go get your sister, will you?" Alec added. "The food's ready." With another nod, Dom got back up and disappeared back into the tent that he had come out of. There was a quiet wait, and then both of them came out of the tent. Alec and Jon exchanged confused glances. They hadn't heard anything, so how had he gotten her up? Ata smiled sleepily at them, and they decided that it really didn't matter, after all.

"Here," Alec said, handing out the loaded plates. The smells coming from the food were enough to make anyone hungry, let alone a group of campers who had been running around all weekend. They fell on the food, scarfing it down.

"So, where to today?" Dom asked finally, when they were all done eating and were just lounging around.

"Hmm…I don't know. There are a lot of trails around, all of which have their own perks. What do you want to see?" Alec asked, his face thoughtful. All four of them thought for a minute.

"How about just trying to get as high as possible, for the view, if nothing else," Ata suggested. The three boys looked at each other.

"That sounds good," Jon finally said.

"Yeah. Let's go for it," Alec decided. "Let's pack up first, though. After all, we are leaving tonight. We aren't sleeping here anymore, remember?"

"Oh, no, it's the end of the world," Jon deadpanned.

"Oh, shut up," Alec growled, stomping off to take down his tent. Ata and Dom went over and took their tent down, Dom doing the 'grunt work', and Ata packing up their belongings from inside the tent. Jon started to take the cooking tent apart, sighing. Why, oh why, was he surrounded by lunatics?

It took the group almost two hours to dissemble the camp, and every couple of minutes an argument would break out, delaying them even more. Still, they were out and moving by ten in the morning.

The trail twisted around the mountains, always going up, but the scenery was too beautiful for anyone, even Jon, to complain. The towering trees, gentle flowers, and open glades, were captivating. The four of them kept looking around, passing the camera around and taking pictures. They went leisurely, so it took them several hours to get to the height that they were going four. Somewhere around three in the afternoon, they came to a cliff, overlooking the mountain range.

"Damn…." Jon exclaimed.

"Watch your language, Jon," Alec told him sharply. "Madre would kill us both if she heard that. But I know what you mean," he continued, his voice more gentle. "Breathtaking, isn't it?"

"Incredibly," Argenta whispered.

The towering cliff overlooked a plunging gorge, with sheer, craggy walls. A glittering silver river poured down the bottom, and they could see a waterfall in the distance. Even from up at their height, they could hear the roar of the river, and even the waterfall in the distance could be heard.

Dom kept silent, simply taking photo after photo. "Let's stop here and have a snack," he suggested, turning away from the view, reluctantly.

They stayed there for half an hour, relaxing, playing games, and teasing each other. That is, until Alec looked at his watch and let out a shout.

"Good lord, it's almost four! We have to get back to the car before dark, load it, and get home before midnight, or Madre is going to panic!"

They all jumped up and quickly packed everything up, before hurrying back down the trail. The sun was, in fact, going down very quickly, and within four hours, it was quite dark. They all got out their flash-lights before hurrying on. It was close to eight when they finally got back to the car, and it was nearly nine before they were on the road. They all groaned.

"Seven more hours…Madre is going to murder us," Alec moaned. Jon was muttering franticly under his breath; from what the twins could tell, he was trying to come up with a good excuse. Somehow, they didn't think that getting attacked by a rabid bear was going to cut it.

_Do you want to hurry us up, or shall I? _Dom asked his sister silently.

_I'll do it...you might make us go too fast. Purposefully. _

_Hey!_

_Tell me that it isn't true._

………………………_._

_Exactly. _

Ata flicked her fingers. There was a pause, then a jolt. The car was suddenly going much faster.

_Yeah…_I_ would be the one to make us go too fast…_ Dom smirked. Ata scowled at him, glaring daggers. Then they both sat back and waited for Alec to notice that they were going at about two hundred miles an hour. It took a good fifteen minutes, and then Alec glanced down at the dashboard and frantically hit the breaks, which didn't work, while shouting unintelligibly.

Dom and Ata both burst out laughing- they couldn't help it. The look of utter shock on Alec's face was priceless.

"Don't worry, it's fine," Dom finally managed to get out. "We have it under control. Just keep going, we'll get there so much faster."

Which was true. It was only around one in the morning when Alec pulled the car, now back to its real speed, back into his garage.

They all got out silently, and unloaded the car. Inside the house, they dumped everything in the laundry room before heading up to their bedrooms, drop dead exhausted.

"Well, we're in for it in the morning, so try and get plenty of sleep," Alec advised them, before vanishing into his own room to take his own advice.

The other three kids exchanged looks before dropping into their own beds. They were asleep in seconds.

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

_**Ok people, I know that I said that I was trying to update every two weeks, and I am, but let's face it, I AM HOPELESS! I have almost no time to work, so they are all going to be long breaks between updates. I am so sorry!**_

_**REVIEW!!!!!! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**_

_**\/**_


	5. Halfway Through and Beach Plans

Bold = someone else's thoughtsItalic=Dom's thoughtsItalic Underlined= Ata's thoughts

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing! J. K. Rowling is the best!**_

Chapter Four ~~ Halfway through and Beach plans

When Dom woke up the next morning, at first, he didn't realize where he was. Stretching silently, he sat up. Blinking in disorientation, he looked around at the walls in shock. Walls?

In a rush, he remembered arriving home at one in the morning, and slipping carefully, quietly, into the house. He smiled slightly. He certainly didn't want to aggravate the Lady Celeste, but arriving at that time was almost certain to do it. Groaning softly, he rolled out of bed and padded into the bathroom, checking the clock on the way. Ten o'clock. Not too bad, he thought, getting into the shower. It could have been worse, after all. Still, by the time that he was out of the shower, it was much closer to eleven o'clock.

Walking back into the bedroom he was sharing with Argenta, he immediately noticed that she was gone. Instantly extending a psychic probe, he located his twin downstairs, in the kitchen, eating a very large breakfast under the supervision of Madre Celeste, with another meal waiting for him.

Dom strolled downstairs, hands in his pockets, to join Ata at the table. Madre Celeste smiled at him, and put a plate on the table in front of him before bustling back into the kitchen. They both heard her muttering things to herself about 'the nerve, coming home in the middle of the night, I was so worried…' the twins grinned at each other.

A few minutes later, Alec and Jon came slouching into the kitchen, looking exhausted. They took seats at the table, groaning quietly. Madame Celeste came back in and placed a large breakfast in front of both of her sons. That done, she placed her hands on her hips and glared at both of her sons. They both shifted uncomfortably, and looked down at their plates.

"Well?" She asked icily. "Do you have any explanations? Do you have any idea how worried I was when you didn't come home?"

"Madre, I'm sorry, but—"

"But!" Madame Celeste looked like she was ready to explode, which might be one of the reasons that both her sons kind of shrank in on themselves. Then, to the twin's ever increasing astonishment and fear, she took a deep breath and started to rant.

The twins sort of shrank in on themselves. They watched in silent shock as she continued to rant for fifteen straight minutes, finally finishing with,

"And you are both _grounded_, don't you give me that look, young man, you deserve it."

Dom made a strangled sound, and Madame Celeste took a breath and turned to the twins, who stared at her with wide eyes.

"I'm so sorry, are you alright? I know that you had a long night as well, and you are just children still. How are you feeling?"

_Is she trying to smother us?_

_You too? We aren't infants._

_I don't think she gets that, Ata._

_Humph._

"We're fine, Madame Celeste, really. And it wasn't their fault, really." Dom was wide eyed and earnest—the twins had discovered that wide eyed innocent looks made everyone bow to their every whim—except Madre, and she always just sighed and muttered darkly about them being just like him, and they knew she meant their father.

Meanwhile, Madame Celeste frowned slightly at the pair, then smiled reluctantly. "I know, Dominic. And I'm glad. Well, as soon as you are all finished, I want you out in the yard. You need the exercise." With that said, the woman hurried back into the kitchen, muttering about dinner under her breath. Her two sons just sighed, and finished their breakfasts.

"Come on," Alec said with a sigh. "We'd better go out or we'll never hear the end of it."

The older boy led the three younger kids out into the large lawn that served as a backyard.

"What's that?" Ata asked instantly, pointing to the large sand pit a fair distance from the yard. There was a large net set up in the middle of it, and a beach bag was sitting on the edge of the pit, clearly filled with large balls. Ata tilted her head curiously, and Dom couldn't help but be interested as well. It just looked so odd, like nothing they had ever seen before.

Jon looked confused. "It's a beach volleyball court," he said. Then his eyes widened. "Oh, right. You don't know about muggle sports. Well, you see those balls?" both twins nodded. "You have to hit them over the net, without letting the ball hit the ground, and you don't want to hit it out of bounds, unless it is the other team going out of bounds. There are two forms, the bump," he demonstrated quickly, "and the set," he finished, demonstrating that one.

"What are the rules?" Ata asked curiously.

Jon shrugged. "I don't know, but see that man?" he asked, nodding towards the beach pit. Ata looked over, and saw the old man sitting on a chair in the shade.

"Yes."

"He's kind of an expert at the game. He knows all the rules, of both Beach Volleyball, and regular Volleyball. He can tell you everything that you want to know."

"Cool!" she bounced off, over to the court, and the old man. Dom grinned at her back.

_Don't kill him with the excitement of teaching you,_ he called to her. She laughed, but didn't respond. He could feel her excitement running through their bond, and as he turned back to Alec and Jon, he kept a bit of the thread open so that he could hear what Ata and the old man were saying. He looked at the two older boys, and they looked at him. Then they all shrugged at the same time. Jon jerked his head at the picnic table on the lawn, and told them that he was just going to relax.

"I'm going to the track," Alec said easily.

"I'll come with you," Dom said.

Alec eyed him doubtfully. "Look, kid, I'm a track runner. You won't be able to keep up with me," he said slowly.

"I can start, right? Don't they say that the younger you start, the better you are? Besides, I don't have to keep up with you."

Alec threw up his hands in exasperation, sighed, and walked off. Dom grinned and followed behind him.

What Alec quickly realized, once the pair reached the track a short distance away, was that he had massively underestimated Dominic. Sure, he was young, and he couldn't run for long without stopping. But he was determined, and what he lacked in stamina, he more than made up for in the boundless energy of a five year old boy. He would run as long as he could, then stop and walk…or plod…along, and when he got his breath back, he would take off running again.

Alec was tired just watching him. He couldn't believe that Dom could just keep going like that. It was making him ill just to think about what the boy was doing. With an effort, Alec shoved Dom out of his mind, and focused on his run.

"They're freaks, I'm telling you," Alec groaned to Jon two weeks later.

"Yes, you've said. Multiple times, I might add."

"How do they have that much energy?" Alec groaned. "After the track, the kid goes over to the Volleyball court, and the old man supervises their game. Even though Dom shouldn't have any idea how to play, he somehow knew every thing. How did he do that? And—"

"I don't know, I don't know, and give it a break!" Jon said, exasperated. "If you want to know that badly, just ask them. They don't bite!"

"They're _twins_."

"What's your point?" Alec didn't answer, just made a frustrated sound and collapsed backwards on his bed, which was where the brothers were having this conversation. "Talk to them. They are only human, you know. Even if they_ are_ twins who can practically hear each others thoughts."

"Oh my god!"

"Wait—they _can_?" Jon's jaw dropped, and shock was evident on his features.

"You just said it!"

"That was just metaphorical! I didn't think that they could actually hear each other's thoughts!"

"Well, I don't know if they actually hear each other's thoughts. That seems like it would be a little…much. Sharing every thought you have? I just think that they can communicate mentally. It seems like the only way that Dom would know the Volleyball rules that Ata had only just learned herself."

"I guess." There was a thoughtful pause. "You know, I think that I've seen that myself. When Dom invited me to go camping with you. I hadn't really thought about it until now…" Jon frowned.

There was a rapid knock on the door to Alec's room, and then the door opened and Ata bounced in, beaming. "Hi!" she chirped.

The two boys stared between her and the door. "Hi," Alec said weakly. "Ata, what are you doing in my room?"

"Dom and I were thinking…why are you looking like that?" She had changed from sentence to sentence mid-word, and sounded innocently curious.

"Erm…can you and Dom…I don't know…talk to each other…in your head?" Alec asked after a long pause.

She smiled at them. "Uh huh. We've done it for as long as I can remember. It's a twin thing." She paused. "Dom wants to know how you figured it out," she added.

Both boys looked slightly disturbed, but Jon finally managed to mutter something about Volleyball rules. Ata tilted her head in confusion, but shrugged it off. "Dom's laughing at me—he say's he gets it. Humph.

"Anyway, Dom and I wanted to go to the beach, and Madame Celeste said to ask you, and we could make it a family trip. So, can we go?"

"Sure…um…yeah, I'll talk to Madre about it." Alec said.

"Thank you!" Ata leaned forward and kissed Alec's cheek, and then bounced over to Jon and kissed his cheek before skipping out the door. A low laugh—Dom—meet her, before she said, "Come on, let's go play another round!" and the pair vanished down the stairs before either of the older boys had recovered.

"She's a little…"

"We are like putty. Pathetic."

Three days passed before it was time to go to the beach. Every day had started with Dom getting up and running around on the track, with a reluctant Alec who would much rather be in his bed. After that, Dom and Ata would play a game of beach volleyball under the supervision of the old man, Roberto, or Rob for short. They would eat breakfast, then hole up in their room and work on addition's to the laptop/wiznet. They would eat lunch, Dom would run, they would play a game, then they would go get Jon and Alec and explore the neighborhood. After that, Dom would run, they would play, the family would eat, maybe play a board game after dinner, and go to sleep. Fairly predictable, really.

On the day that they were going to go to the beach, Dom woke up even earlier than usual. Alec flatly refused to get out of bed, so Dom went with Ata, who sat on the bleachers by the track and tried not to fall asleep again. Afterwards, they skipped the morning volleyball, instead planning to make it up when they got to the beach.

They bounced—or more accurately, Dom bounced and Ata walked—into the kitchen afterwards, and immediately caught sight of all of the bags that held the things they were taking to the beach. Ata's eyes light up and she squealed excitedly, and Madame Celeste laughed at her expression.

"Sit, and eat, children. The beach will not run away, you know," she teased them lightly.

"Oh, yes, Madame Celeste," Ata said earnestly, "but we've never been to the beach before,"

"And we probably won't get to go again for a while, so we're really excited," Dom finished for her.

Madame Celeste shook her head, and then placed a large plate of pancakes in front of them each with a smile. "Eat, so that we can go. I will wake the boys, they will eat, we will pack the van, and go." The woman nodded to herself, then bustled out of the kitchen, leaving the twins to blink blankly after her.

"Um…ok," Ata finally muttered, turning back to her food.

A few minutes later, both of the older boys walked into the kitchen, and headed over to the stove to grab their own food before joining the twins at the table.

"So, looking forward to today?" Jon asked them, starting to eat.

"Oh, yes," Ata said excitedly. "I can't wait! It's going to be so much fun, and we're going to have ice-cream, and play beach volleyball on an actual beach, and—"

"Whoa, slow down there!" Alec said with a laugh. "Yes, it'll be fun, and we'll do a lot of stuff. Don't micromanage us!"

"What?" both twins asked him, confused. "What does that mean?"

"Nevermind," he told them, just as his mother swept into the room.

"Finish, finish," she chided. "We want to hurry, dears, to get there quickly, before the crowds."

"Yes, Madre," the boys said, while the twins simultaneously chimed "Yes, Madame Celeste."

Mothers could be really scary.

**Thank you for your patience with me, because I know that you all must really hate me for my updating habits. **

**Anyway, I know that this chapter is crap, but my muse for this story has hit me over the head and run off…so I'm putting the story on hiatus. I don't want to, and I regret it, but I need time to figure everything out. Hopefully, the next time that I post, I will have pretty much typed out most if not all of the story.**

**I'm sorry!**


End file.
